1. Technical Field
This application relates to a surgical stapling apparatus, and more particularly, to an articulating mechanism for use with an endoscopic surgical stapling apparatus for sequentially applying a plurality of surgical fasteners to body tissue and optionally incising fastened tissue.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical devices wherein tissue is first grasped or clamped between opposing jaw structure and then joined by surgical fasteners are well known in the art. In some instruments a knife is provided to cut the tissue which has been joined by the fasteners. The fasteners are typically in the form of surgical staples but two part polymeric fasteners can also be utilized.
Instruments for this purpose can include two elongated members which are respectively used to capture or clamp tissue. Typically, one of the members carries a staple cartridge which houses a plurality of staples arranged in at least two lateral rows while the other member has an anvil that defines a surface for forming the staple legs as the staples are driven from the staple cartridge. Generally, the stapling operation is effected by cam bars that travel longitudinally through the staple cartridge, with the cam bars acting upon staple pushers to sequentially eject the staples from the staple cartridge. A knife can travel between the staple rows to longitudinally cut and/or open the stapled tissue between the rows of staples. Such instruments are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,606 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,675.
A later stapler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,591 applies a double row of staples on each side of the incision. This is accomplished by providing a disposable loading unit in which a cam member moves through an elongate guide path between two sets of staggered staple carrying grooves. Staple drive members are located within the grooves and are positioned in such a manner so as to be contacted by the longitudinally moving cam member to effect ejection of the staples from the staple cartridge of the disposable loading unit. Other examples of such staplers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,429,695 and 5,065,929.
Each of the instruments described above were designed for use in conventional surgical procedures wherein surgeons have direct manual access to the operative site. However, in endoscopic or laparoscopic procedures, surgery is performed through a small incision or through a narrow cannula inserted through small entrance wounds in the skin. In order to address the specific needs of endoscopic and/or laparoscopic surgical procedures, endoscopic surgical stapling devices have been developed and are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,715 (Green, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,976 (Olson, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,023 (Green, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,221 (Green, et al.); U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,013 (Green, et al.); and U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,142 (Robinson, et al.).
U.S. Surgical, the assignee of the present application, has manufactured and marketed endoscopic stapling instruments, such as the Multifire ENDO GIA* 30 and Multifire ENDO GIA* 60 instruments, for several years. These instruments have provided significant clinical benefits. Nonetheless, improvements are possible, for example, by reducing the cost and complexity of manufacture.
Current laparoscopic linear stapling devices are configured to operate with disposable loading units (U.S. Surgical) and staple cartridges (Ethicon) of only one size. For example, individual linear staplers are presently available for applying parallel rows of staples measuring 30 mm, 45 mm and 60 mm in length. Thus, during a normal operation, a surgeon may be required to utilize several different stapling instruments to perform a single laparoscopic surgical procedure. Such practices increase the time, complexity and overall costs associated with laparoscopic surgical procedures. In addition, costs are greater in designing and manufacturing multiple stapler sizes, as opposed to creating a single, multipurpose stapler.
It would be extremely beneficial to provide a surgical device for use during laparoscopic and/or endoscopic surgical procedures that can be employed with several different sized disposable loading units to reduce the overall costs associated with such procedures. It would also be particularly beneficial if the device could perform multiple tasks, using disposable loading units of varying size and of varying purpose, such as, for example, to staple, clip, cut and/or articulate.
In making improvements or modifications to the current instruments, it would be highly desirable not to sacrifice any of the important benefits of the MULTIFIRE ENDO GIA* 30 and 60 instruments as compared to other commercially available products, e.g., the endoscopic stapling instruments manufactured and marketed by Ethicon, Inc. For example, any improvement should advantageously provide a fresh knife blade for each firing of the instrument and ensure that the disposable loading unit is securely retained in the stapling instrument unless and until the operating team chooses to remove it. These advantages have historically been found in the U.S. Surgical instruments, but not in the Ethicon instruments.